At 09:27 AM 6/2/98 -0400, you wrote:
>>A very common "authentifying" feature of such folklore is either "I was
>>there" or "I heard it from someone who was there." I imagine that, as
>>journalists, NYTimes writers are more likely to say that they themselves
>>have obtained the information at first hand.
>>
>True, but note for this particular case that a Metropolitan Diary entry is
>neither submitted by nor corroborated by a reporter, just selected by one.

Since I don't read all of the Times except on weekends, I wasn't aware of
that feature's special nonjournalistic status. You mean any of us can send
them a fantasy, or a recast/improved anecdote, and they might print it if
they think it's amusing? Is it the newspaper of record, or the newspaper of
the dance remix?

>(They're just sent in by readers, representing no more inherently accurate
>pieces of journalism than, say, submissions to Penthouse Forum.)
>
>Larry
>

Gee, I was always told that the Old usedtobeGrey Lady holds herself to
higher standards than Penthouse Fantasies, I mean Penthouse Forum.